Curt’s Off to Tackle a New Endurance Endeavor

At Gear West Bike and Tri, it is often said that “no one leaves feeling too good about themselves.” This includes all staff members and our most valued customers in a loose and friendly manner. Although many of us take endurance events, the success of the shop…(honestly Kevin), and anything bike / triathlon related seriously, there is always room for humor and witty remarks directed at one another.

With this said, it is fitting that we would spice up the employee exit interview process with some humor, make it public for all to see (with permission of course), and make all remaining employees look slightly better.

Below, is the official copy of Curt’s exit interview before leaving GW Bike to join the ranks at Best Buy Corporate as a demand planner. Before we all had to say goodbye to a valued employees, we figured we would have some fun and get a few last laughs from Curt.

1. We understand you finally gave in to the intense pressure from your GW Bike co-workers to either shave your legs or find a new job? Was this truly the reason or was it that you weren’t viewed as a “real triathlete” because you haven’t done an Ironman?

I would have to say it’s a little of both. The shaving pressure was intense, but I always enjoyed being the fastest hairy legged cyclist. Thank goodness for the public acceptance of compression socks so I could avoid shaving questions all together.

And don’t even get me started on the Ironman thing. I guess I’ll have to join with Simon Whitfield, Javier Gomez, Matt Reed and David Thompson in not being real triathletes (Keep in mind that David is not doing a “real” Ironman at Rev3… just Iron-Distance (Totally not the same thing!) You didn’t mention this, but Trent’s perma-frown was a major reason as well.

2. At the Year End Tri Banquet last year you stated that at your previous job you were the fastest triathlete on the floor of 150 employees but at GW Bike you are #4 in the office of 6. Isn’t this the real reason you are leaving?

You better believe that was part of the screening process. “So, can anyone here do a sub-2 hr olympic?” I think they have one guy who’s pretty fast, but he doesn’t even wear compression socks or an aero helmet, so I’m not too worried. It will be nice to be in the top 10% again.

3. Virtually every week each of us are mistaken for one another by customers. Did you conduct a photo line-up with your prospective co-workers to make certain there would not be that confusion at your new job?

I did, and there’s no close match. This is actually unfortunate because I really enjoyed being the owner, winner of the Minnetonka Half Marathon, and top pro-triathlete. I always got a kick out of people leaving thinking, “Wow, David is way bigger in person, and he actually looks a little soft”.

4. Since you were willing to make the run up the road to Super America you accumulated an impressive amount of Speedy Rewards points. Are you planning on sharing those points with GW bike before you leave?

I will take these to the grave. They are mine. I don’t even plan on using them, I just enjoy being in the 100,000 point club…. it gets you special treatment at SA. Sometimes they’ll give me a 44oz for the price of a 32oz, or tell me which hot dogs are the freshest. It’s pretty sweet.

5. Is it true that you are trying to steal our Gear West Bike Facebook fans?

I was planning a sly facebook name change from the “Gear West Bike and Tri” page to the “Curt is my hero” page. I figure most people wouldn’t notice

Top 10 Reasons Curt is Actually Leaving:

Jared (say no more)

We hired Josh Busacker who is 1/4″ taller than Curt

He didn’t get respect because he was only a Div 3 swimmer

He knew his job was in jeopardy when he wouldn’t commit to an Ironman

Although David only works 4 hrs/wk he seems to always work in comments about his swimming superiority to Curt

Trent’s “naturally downturned mouth” aka “permafrown”

Once Corey was hired, Curt no longer had the largest calves in the store

To be a more overbearing father as his son Sebastian begins his athletic career

Kevin’s Compression socks and Crocs, now also worn by Devon, Corey, and Brennan

Drew’s pompous comments about how much better he is than Curt since Drew is a Macintosh guy

On a serious note, Curt will be missed a great deal. He was a tremendous asset here at the store and we will all have to pick up a lot of slack with him gone. He is often recognized because of his stellar athletic ability, but he is an even better person. He will have great success in life at whatever he chooses to do. Curt is a quiet and very humble person. When he joined us, we thought we knew him from years of racing with him, but we had we had no idea he was such a funny and talented guy. The answers above are just a taste of his humor. If you want to see some of his funny work, take a look at these videos he made for the shop.

Curt will still be racing with the shop, so we will all get to see him at the local races. He will also still be the anchor on our 4 man Team Time Trial for years to come.

Gear West Bike & Tri wishes Curt, Christine, and their baby boy Sebastian the very best. Luckily, they are staying in the Twin Cities, so we will be able to see them regularly.

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Welcome to the official blog of Gear West Bike and Triathlon. We have enjoyed supporting the multisport community for over 20 years and look forward to sharing our knowledge with you. You can visit our store site at gearwestbike.com